FoodCycle Bath won £300 towards its work tackling food waste at the second Bath Soup Project, recently held at Bath College’s Shrubbery Restaurant.
The volunteer-run project will use the money to buy new baking trays, to fit a new oven in place at St Mary’s Catholic Church.
Five community organisations gave a five-minute pitch at the crowdfunding event, raising money for projects in Bath with a simple bowl of soup.
FoodCycle Bath received the most votes on the night. The tins will fit a new oven in place at St Mary’s, making it quicker and easier to serve food.
Volunteers for FoodCycle Bath have been serving delicious three-course meals made from surplus food since 2012. Meals take place every Wednesday at 7.30pm and everyone is welcome.
Visitors supporting the second Bath Soup Project donated £5 in return for a bowl of soup, donated by the Free Range Chef and a chunk of Bread donated by The Thoughtful Bread Company.
At the end of the evening, they chose which organisation to give the takings to.
Those pitching for the cash included the Keynsham Kindness project, Mentoring Plus, the FoodCycle, Bath Welcomes Refugees and Sporting Family Change.
Although only one project took the money on the evening, all projects received further offers of support.
HND business students at Bath College gave up their time to organise the event and volunteer on the night.
Carole Rust, who led the pitch for FoodCycle Bath, said: “The evening has been a great opportunity for sharing contacts and knowledge.
“It’s a bit like our FoodCycle meals – you don’t know what those ingredients are going to do when they’re put together but often the result is awesome. I had no idea we would win the pitch.”
Fiona Bell, hub leader at the FoodCycle Bath, said: “We’re reducing food waste, reducing food poverty and building up communities. We have quite a few regulars and some people say it’s the highlight of their week.”
Employability adviser Lucy Beattie worked with the Bath College students and The Volunteer Centre to plan the event.
She said: “It was a great success, giving the students a chance to work on a live community event and for all of us to hear more about the amazing projects going on in our community.
“It was great to hear how Southside Youth Mentoring are using the funds from the first Soup Project to train their peer mentors and to see new projects being planned for Bath.”
The next Bath Soup Project event is planned for October, follow @bathsoupproject on Twitter for updates.
